Some of America's--and Italy's--most iconic car brands are getting a makeover. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the world's seventh largest automaker, unveiled its ambitious five-year plan to investors and media on May 6, 2014. American heritage brands Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Chrysler will join the global aims of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and even Ferrari under the FCA plan. While Dodge gets pared down to its performance base, Jeep and Maserati will expand globally and Alfa Romeo is...

By Bernie Woodall and Marilyn W. Thompson DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. safety regulators are investigating about 1.2 million Chrysler vehicles for potential ignition-switch problems, expanding a probe beyond General Motors Co to another Detroit automaker. Chrysler is the subject of two investigations involving possible nondeployment of air bags because of potentially defective switches that can be turned off in older Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler models, according to...

MILAN (Reuters) - New car sales in Italy, Europe's fourth-largest car market, rose 4.96 percent in March from the same month a year ago to 139,337 vehicles, Italy's transport ministry said on Tuesday. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles's share of the Italian market was 28.08 percent in March, compared with 28.07 percent the previous month or 28.75 percent in March last year, according to calculations made by Reuters. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Isla Binnie)

VENICE Italy (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will meet its 2014 targets even though the Brazilian car market is set to remain difficult and Europe is showing no sign of improvement, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday. "At the group level, we'll achieve them. This is not a problem," Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Venice. Asked about a possible stabilisation of the situation in Brazil, he said: "Fiat will maintain its...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Group is recalling 18,092 Fiat 500L cars in the United States because drivers may not be able to shift out of park, according to documents filed with U.S. safety regulators. Chrysler, a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , is recalling some 2014 models because in certain temperatures the transmission shift lever may have a delayed effect or no effect on selecting a gear, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic...

DETROIT (Reuters) - The first 86 dealerships to relaunch the sporty Alfa Romeo brand in North America, most of them now selling Fiat cars, were announced on Tuesday by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles . The 83 Fiat dealerships and three Maserati dealerships will be the first to sell the limited-edition Alfa Romeo 4C sports car later this year. It is the first time new Alfa models will be sold in North America since 1996. Last month, Fiat Chrysler said it would...

VENICE Italy (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will meet its 2014 targets even though the Brazilian car market is set to remain difficult and Europe is showing no sign of improvement, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday. "At the group level, we'll achieve them. This is not a problem," Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Venice. Asked about a possible stabilisation of the situation in Brazil, he said: "Fiat will maintain its...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Actor Dustin Hoffman made Alfa Romeo trendy for Americans by driving a red Spider 1600 in the 1967 movie "The Graduate," but Alfa sales never took off in the North American market and the company ultimately pulled out. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Alfa's current owner, this week revealed a strategy for the sporty Italian brand to race from zero to 150,000 sales in just four years. But industry experts, some citing the more than two decades it took...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Chrysler unit said on Friday it was recalling an estimated 780,477 minivans after reports of overheating, including some fires, in third-row power window vent switches. The company said it would replace the window vent switches. It said there were no reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue, but 36 incidents of overheating and an undisclosed number of fires. "Some incidents involved fire, many did...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Chrysler unit said on Friday it was recalling an estimated 780,477 minivans after reports of overheating, including some fires, in third-row power window vent switches. The company said it would replace the window vent switches. It said there were no reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue, but 36 incidents of overheating and an undisclosed number of fires. "Some incidents involved fire, many did...

DETROIT (Reuters) - The first 86 dealerships to relaunch the sporty Alfa Romeo brand in North America, most of them now selling Fiat cars, were announced on Tuesday by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles . The 83 Fiat dealerships and three Maserati dealerships will be the first to sell the limited-edition Alfa Romeo 4C sports car later this year. It is the first time new Alfa models will be sold in North America since 1996. Last month, Fiat Chrysler said it would...

DETROIT (Reuters) - If Fiat Chrysler Automobiles wants to become a significant force in Asia, it needs to succeed in China. But its track record so far in the world's largest automobile market raises doubts about its ability to deliver on growth promises, analysts say. The newly merged auto company has been present in China for some time, but it has a market share of only 0.6 percent both in that country and in the Asia-Pacific region. It lags far behind rivals that are...

DETROIT (Reuters) - The headquarters of the newly merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will be moved to London, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne clarified on Thursday, cementing a politically sensitive shift away from Italy, Fiat's home for the past 115 years. Fiat's home is currently in Turin, Italy, while Chrysler is headquartered in Auburn Hills, outside of Detroit. "Headquarters will be in London," he told journalists during a press conference at Chrysler's...

DETROIT (Reuters) - The headquarters of the newly merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will be moved to London, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne clarified on Thursday, cementing a politically sensitive shift away from Italy, Fiat's home for the past 115 years. Fiat's home is currently in Turin, Italy, while Chrysler is headquartered in Auburn Hills, outside of Detroit. "Headquarters will be in London," he told journalists during a press conference at Chrysler's...

(Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will announce an agreement by the end of April to allow production of Jeep models in China, the head of the Jeep brand, Mike Manley, said on Wednesday. Manley said he hoped the deal with Chinese officials could be announced at this weekend's Beijing auto show. "It will be ideal if I can get the timing right for the Beijing show, but I'm not at the stage to say that definitely," Manley said in a telephone interview from the...

Some of America's--and Italy's--most iconic car brands are getting a makeover. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the world's seventh largest automaker, unveiled its ambitious five-year plan to investors and media on May 6, 2014. American heritage brands Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Chrysler will join the global aims of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and even Ferrari under the FCA plan. While Dodge gets pared down to its performance base, Jeep and Maserati will expand globally and Alfa Romeo is...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Actor Dustin Hoffman made Alfa Romeo trendy for Americans by driving a red Spider 1600 in the 1967 movie "The Graduate," but Alfa sales never took off in the North American market and the company ultimately pulled out. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Alfa's current owner, this week revealed a strategy for the sporty Italian brand to race from zero to 150,000 sales in just four years. But industry experts, some citing the more than two decades it took...

DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. auto industry in April rebounded sharply from a bitter and extended winter, with car sales rising 8 percent from the previous year. Six of the top seven automakers reported year-to-year sales gains on Thursday, but only four topped analysts' expectations. The industry delivered 1.39 million cars in April, up 8 percent from the previous year, according to research firm Autodata Corp. Tapping consumer demand that began to increase as the bad weather broke...

DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. auto industry in April rebounded sharply from a bitter and extended winter, with car sales rising 8 percent from the previous year. Six of the top seven automakers reported year-to-year sales gains on Thursday, but only four topped analysts' expectations. The industry delivered 1.39 million cars in April, up 8 percent from the previous year, according to research firm Autodata Corp. Tapping consumer demand that began to increase as the bad weather broke...

(Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will announce an agreement by the end of April to allow production of Jeep models in China, the head of the Jeep brand, Mike Manley, said on Wednesday. Manley said he hoped the deal with Chinese officials could be announced at this weekend's Beijing auto show. "It will be ideal if I can get the timing right for the Beijing show, but I'm not at the stage to say that definitely," Manley said in a telephone interview from the...